Taylor, Zachary, 1927, Biographical Sketch

ZACHARY TAYLOR was the first army man to be President, the second and only other being General Grant. A dozen Presidents from Washington to Roosevelt have seen war service, but only as citizen soldiers. Far, however, from being a military figure, Taylor's legs were so short that his orderly had to lift one of them over the flanks of his horse whenever he mounted it. He is said to have rarely ever worn a uniform. While owning a large landed estate in Louisiana, Taylor was a thrifty soul and failed to receive notification of his nomination for several days after it occurred because the committee had failed to prepay the postage on the letter at a time when the post office carried letters collect, and Taylor refused to accept it. Inaugurated in 1849, the President was overcome by a long exposure in the blazing sun sixteen months later while laying the cornerstone of the Washington Monument.1. Brief Biographies of our Presidents and the First Ladies of the Land, 1927, American Weekly, Inc., page 13.